SteelOrbis has been informed that as of June 30 ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $1,850-1,900/mt FOB, stable compared to June 23.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have moved sideways, providing support for stainless steel export prices.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have edged up over the past week.
During the given week, rainy weather and floods in China have reduced the demand for stainless steel, while most traders kept their offer prices stable amid the firm trend on the cost side. The capacity utilization rate of ferronickel production in Indonesia started to increase in June, which will increase the supply of ferronickel and drag down its prices, which will likely weaken the support for stainless steel prices.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at RMB 13,105/mt ($1,866.4/mt) on Tuesday, June 30, decreasing by RMB 85/mt ($12/mt) or 0.6 percent compared to RMB 13,190/mt on June 23.
$1 = RMB 7.0795